Sunscreen Facts: Raise Your SPF IQ
 July
may be the hottest month of the year, but August and early September
are chock-a-block with scorchers. As you head to the beach or the
bay, are you armed and ready for the wrath of the sun's rays? "Common
belief is that SPF 15 will block 95 percent of sunlight," says
Charles McDonald, MD, chief of dermatology
at Rhode Island Hospital and former president of the American Cancer
Society's board of directors. "It does the job under laboratory
conditions, but in real life, people just splash it on, thinning
it out to an equivalent of SPF 7.
"The minimum SPF I recommend is 30,"
McDonald says. "For outdoor activity, use SPF 45 because you'll
be perspiring, which dilutes the sunscreen. For those who are very
fair, who have red hair, blue eyes and freckles, add a total block
that contains titanium or zinc."
If you want to keep your skin supple, shun the sun between 10 a.m.
to 2 p.m. when the rays are most intense. Broad-brimmed hats and
clothes with a close weave also fend off harmful rays. Keep in mind
that sunlight reflected off the bay, the sand—even the concrete
of a city sidewalk—is damaging.
If you slip up and stay out
too long, take aspirin or a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug
(NSAID) to counteract redness and pain. Once the sunburn appears,
apply cool compresses or mentholated creams.
"People underestimate the damage the sun can do," McDonald
warns. "Although rare, malignant melanoma accounts for 50,000
of the one million skin cancer cases diagnosed each year in the
U.S." In other words: stay in deep shade and you've got it
made.
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skin cancer prevention 
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